Hockey glove

ABSTRACT

A PROTECTOR FOR THE BACK OF A HOCKEY GLOVE COMPRISING A LAYER OF RELATIVELY RIGID AND UNBREAKABLE MATERIAL SANDWICHED BETWEEN LAYERS OF SHOCK ABSORBING MATERIAL AND FORMED OVER THE BACK AND AROUND THE SIDE OF THE GLOVE AND PERFORATIONS THROUGH THE SANDWICH AND GLOVE TO ADMIT AIR TO THE GLOVE INTERIOR.

W. B. MURRAY Dec. 14, 1971 HOCKEY GLOVE ATTORNEYS INVENTOR Mu a 2 SheetsSheot 1 Filed Dec.

*QMM r -a1 Dec. 14, 1971 w, MURRAY 3,626,515

' HOCKEY GLOVE Filed Dec. 4, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR WLZ Z mm Mun 'ay W M W ATTORNEYS United States Patent Int. Cl. A41a 13/10 U.S. Cl. 2-16 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A protector for the back of a hockey glove comprising a layer of relatively rigid and unbreakable material sandwiched between layers of shock absorbing material and formed over the back and around the side of the glove and perforations through the sandwich and glove to admit air to the glove interior.

This invention relates generally to protective gloves and, in particular, to a glove construction adapted to provide protection for the back of the hand, wrist and thumb of a glove user.

Gloves of the type herein referred to are used commonly as protection for the hands of hockey players. Such gloves generally comprise finger and thumb encasing portions, hand and wrist encasing portions with some form of protection as, for example, a series of padded rolls on the back of the hand, wrist and thumb portion of the glove or a series of overlapping slats or protective pieces secured to the glove to protect the back of the hand, wrist and thumb.

One difliculty with conventional protective constructions is that they add to the weight of the glove and, in many cases, restrict the flexibility of the glove and movement of the fingers and thumb when the glove is in use. In addition, the inclusion of rigid slats or other material restrict air circulation in the glove and there is a problem of excessive sweating of the hand when the glove is used in hockey games or other physical action sports.

This invention provides a lightweight protective device adapted to be included in hockey glove construction without reducing the flexibility of the glove or restricting the movements of the fingers or thumb while the glove is in use. In addition, means are provided to permit the circulation of air to the hand of a glove user so that excessive sweating of the hand is reduced.

In the attached drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a glove constructed in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the glove illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the glove of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a broken away sectional view taken at the line AA of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken at the line BB of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a broken away sectional view taken at line CC of FIG. 3.

As seen in the drawings, the glove includes finger encasing portions F, a thumb encasing portion indicated generally at T and a hand and wrist encasing portion indicated generally at W.

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The finger engaging portions are conventional in form and each include suitable padding of sponge rubber or other shock absorbing material secured to the upper side thereof with additional padding 2 positioned laterally of the glove to provide padding for the knuckles and to permit the finger engaging portions F to be bent and flexed as indicated in FIG. 2.

The thumb encasing portion T is located below the projecting thumb guard 3, is movable independently of the thumb guard 3 and is connected thereto with a short strap 4. The construction of the thumb guard 3 is best seen in FIG. 6 of the drawings. The thumb guard 3 includes a center insert 5 of relatively rigid and unbreakable material and which is sandwiched between an upper layer 6 and a lower layer 7 of shock absorbing material. The thumb guard 3 is encased within a suitable covering 8 of leather or like material which preferably is cut and stitched integrally with the remainder of the glove.

The hand and wrist encasing portion W is of conventional form with an arm gauntlet 9 and suitable lacing 10 to adjust the size of the gauntlet.

The protector for the back of the hand and wrist is indicated generally at P. As will be seen from FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the protector P extends over a section of the hand and wrist encasing portion W and is formed around the side of the glove on which the thumb encasing portion is located. As best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the protector comprises a layer of shock absorbing material 11 which is covered by a layer of relatively rigid and unbreakable material 12 formed in the desired shape and fitted around the layer of shock absorbent material to cover such material. The two layers are secured in place on the glove by a covering of leather or like material which preferably is the same material used in the glove construction.

A plurality of perforations 13 are formed through the covering and the layers of material so that air may circulate through to the back of the hand of a glove wearer;

In constructing the glove, it has been found preferable to position the protector for the back of the hand and wrist, simultaneously with the thumb protector 3 and so that the shock absorbing material 6 and 7 above and below the relatively rigid and unbreakable protector 8, can be inserted and positioned at the same time as the shock absorbing material 11. Thereafter, as the leather covering is formed for the protector P, the covering for the thumb protector 3 can be included and the entire hand and wrist protector and thumb protector secured in place at the same time.

The layer of shock absorbing material 11 and the layers 6 and 7 of shock absorbing material preferably are of vinyl, rubber or similar material having the necessary shock absorbing characteristics, and the thickness of such layers will be adjusted to obtain the desired degree of shock absorption.

The layer of relatively rigid and unbreakable material 12 as well as the insert 5 preferably are formed of a polyester material. Such material has been found to possess the necessary rigidity and, at the same time, is relatively unbreakable and, at the same time, is of light weight so that it may be used as a protector for a hockey glove or the like without materially adding to the weight of the glove and, at the same time, will not be broken when subjected to blows and other stresses encountered in a hockey game or similar physical action sport.

I claim:

1. In a glove, including finger encasing portions, a thumb encasing portion and hand and wrist encasing portions, a protector for the back of the hand of a user comprising a shock absorbing layer and a covering of relatively rigid and unbreakable material extending thereover, said protector being disposed over the portion of the glove covering the back of the hand and extending around the side of the glove and over the thumb encasing portion; means securing the convering in place on the glove; and a plurality of perforations through the protector and the glove to allow air to circulate from the outside to the inside of the glove.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein there is a thumb guard projecting from said protector to overlie said thumb encasing portion and having a layer of relatively rigid unbreakable material sandwiched between layers of shock absorbing material.

References Cited JAMES R. BOLER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 2-l61 A 3 UNITEE STATES PATENT orrrer CERTEFKCATE (M Patent No ,515 Dated D oem er 1% 1971 Inventor(s) William Murray It is certified that error appears; in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below;

irs column 1, line '7, "Augo 26 1967" should read aw AXI-go 26 1969"0 In column 3', line 10, "convering" should read covering o Signed and sealed this 25th day of A rilx 3.9"?2.a

(SEAL) Attes't:

EDWARD MQFLETCHEIR,JRQ

ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting; Officer Commissioner of Patents 

